SOCCER ROUNDUP : Kennedy Ties Pacifica to Remain in Control

Fortune smiled on the Kennedy High School boys’ soccer team Wednesday. By virtue of an unexpected--if not questionable--goal, the Fighting Irish remained in control of their destiny in the Garden Grove League.

True, Kennedy could only manage a 1-1 tie at Pacifica, but in this case, a tie was as good as a victory.

The Fighting Irish (10-3-4, 6-0-2 in league play) need only to win their remaining four games for the league title. La Quinta, which is in second place, and Pacifica, which is in third, have no more games remaining with Kennedy.

“All the tie did was help us get to the playoffs,” Pacifica Coach Rob Weil said. “We came into this game needing a win to have a shot at the league title. We didn’t get it.”

The Mariners came close, though, and were more the victims of bad luck than anything.

Pacifica (7-4-4, 5-1-2) dominated play and led, 1-0, midway through the second half.

Kennedy appeared confused on offense and wasted what few chances it had created. But the Fighting Irish managed to tie the score on a fluke goal.

With 18 minutes left, John Medina hooked a corner kick that was snared by Pacifica goalie Chris Maroney. However, Maroney lost his balance and stumbled backwards.

Referees ruled that the ball crossed the goal line and called it a goal. Weir and his players argued, but to no avail.

“That goal was dubious at best,” Kennedy Coach Vladimir Nieto said. “But whether it was a goal or not a goal, you have to credit the official for having the guts to call it.”

The score ruined what was otherwise a perfect effort by the Mariners.

Defenders Tracy Siudzinsky and Andy Anderson disrupted Kennedy’s attack. They allowed few chances and what opportunities the Fighting Irish had were stopped by Maroney, who had seven saves.

On offense, Pacifica worked the right side of the field. The strategy paid off 10 minutes into the game, when Mike Christie centered a pass to Eric Stevens, who scored.

“I told my kids that we were the lucky ones today,” Nieto said. “But we’ll take it.”

In another Garden Grove League game:

La Quinta 6, Garden Grove 0--Tuan Dang and Ken Abadie each had two goals and Chris Siok and Jose Aponte each scored one for visiting La Quinta (12-5-1, 6-1-1). Praseuth Sotakoun had two saves for La Quinta. Aaron Kennedy had nine saves for Garden Grove.

In the Century League:

Orange 1, El Modena 0--Justin Zayas scored in the 20th minute for visiting Orange (11-2-4, 4-0-1). Eric Jaime had 10 saves for top-ranked Orange. Fred Romo had six saves for No. 7 El Modena (8-1-2, 3-1-1).

In the Empire League:

Katella 3, Cypress 0--Armando Orizaba, Jessie Santivanez and Jose Figueroa each scored for host Katella (12-3-3, 3-1-2).

Esperanza 1, Los Alamitos 0--Sal Hernandez scored five minutes into the second half for visiting Esperanza (9-2-7, 3-0-3). Goalkeeper Kenny Hall had eight saves in his fifth consecutive shutout. He has allowed one goal in league play.

El Dorado 4, Loara 0--Rodrigo Cid had three goals and Carlos Cedano also scored for visiting El Dorado (10-6-3, 4-1-1). Blayne Leitner had 10 saves in his sixth shutout of the season.

In the Orange League:

Brea-Olinda 2, Western 1--Robert Atherton scored in the 33rd minute to tie the score at 1-1, and Martin Wall scored the winning goal with seven minutes remaining for Brea-Olinda (7-6-3, 5-0). Derrick Taylor scored 10 minutes into the game for Western (1-9-4, 0-3-2).

Anaheim 5, Magnolia 0--Ramon Camacho, Marco Alfaro, Alex Perez, Jaime Garcia and Gabriel Lozano each scored for host Anaheim (13-2-2, 3-1-1).

Valencia 3, Savanna 1--Gary Thompson, Dan Melia and Uli Perez scored for visiting Valencia (6-8-3, 3-1-1). Victor Flores scored for Savanna (2-7-2, 1-2-2) with a minute left in the game. Chris Martin had 15 saves for Savanna.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Estancia 2, Costa Mesa 1--Jose Suarez and Raul Diaz scored for visiting Estancia (7-2-4, 2-0-3).

Laguna Hills 8, Laguna Beach 1--Juan Strutton scored twice for host Laguna Hills (10-5-3, 3-0-2). Ismael Gonzales scored for Laguna Beach (2-11-0, 1-4-0).

Trabuco Hills 2, Century 0--Shane Sherwood and Christian Haynes scored for host Trabuco Hills (6-7-4, 2-2-1). Dan Abdalla had eight saves for the Mustangs. Anthony Lievanos had four saves for Century (4-7-2, 1-3-1).

In the South Coast League:

Capistrano Valley 2, San Clemente 0--Chris Wallace and Ryan Damato scored for host Capistrano Valley (7-5-4, 4-0-1). Chad Andrew had four saves and Miguel Sixtos had three saves for San Clemente (3-9-3, 2-3-0).

In the Sunset League:

Santa Ana 2, Marina 0--Miguel Abarca and Ralph Serrano scored for visiting Santa Ana (10-5-1, 6-1).